Travel Points and Go

Tangerine bank review – Canada’s best online bank. (updated in 2023)

March 24, 2020 Nicolas Banks, Credit cards, Offers, Tangerine

There are many options for banking in Canada but one of my favorites is Tangerine Bank. Formerly ING direct, Tangerine was acquired by Scotiabank in 2012 and is now one of the best online banks in Canada. They offer their customers no fee banking accounts, competitive interest rates, mobile banking and an excellent, no annual fee cash back credit card.

So, look no further if you want a comprehensive review of the many features and highlights of Tangerine bank.

Review of the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in the Toronto Airport

January 28, 2020 Nicolas Marriott, Reward programs

During a recent overnight flight connection through Toronto, I was able to stay and experience the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at the Toronto International Airport. This hotel is located conveniently right beside Terminal 3 of the airport making it an ideal location to stay overnight before an early morning flight.

Earn bonus cashback with Indigo.ca this Black Friday & holiday season!!

November 27, 2019 Nicolas Credit cards, Great Canadian Rebates, Offers

Indigo (aka Chapters/Indigo) is Canada’s largest bookstore chain and one of my favorite places to shop. Not only do they have a wide selection of books, but they also sell accessories, home decor, stationery, electronics (like the Kobo e-reader) and toys.

With Black Friday & holiday season right around the corner, learn how to earn some extra cash back with your online purchases at Indigo!

Borrowell review 2022: The BEST way to get your credit score and report for FREE in Canada

October 4, 2019 Nicolas Credit score, Offers

In Canada, it’s expensive to check your credit score and report. For example, the credit bureau Equifax charges between $12 and $20/month for credit report monitoring.

Well, if you want a FREE alternative, register with Borrowell to get your Equifax credit score and report on a weekly basis!

Expired – Earn $550 cash by opening a no-fee chequing account with Coast Capital Savings (BC residents only).

September 12, 2019 Nicolas Offers

Coast Capital Savings is a credit union based in British Colombia. They are currently offering one of the best and easiest sign up cash bonus for BC residents!

Learn more about this exciting promotion.

DISCONTINUED – Stack Prepaid MasterCard review – save on ATM withdrawal and FX fees worldwide (updated 2023)

June 1, 2019 Nicolas Offers, Travel

EDIT: The Stack Prepaid MasterCard is discontinued as of September 11, 2023!!!! Also, it’s no longer possible to load funds onto Stack cards as of August 18, 2023.

EDIT: As of February 1, 2022, the Foreign Exchange (FX) fees for the Stack Prepaid Mastercard will increase to 2.5%. Each month, cardholders who spend a minimum of $350 CAD in purchases will be reimbursed their FX fees on up to $1,000 CAD of FX spend outside of Canada.

EDIT: As of May 2021, it’s easier now to load your Stack card with an Interac e-Transfer request!

EDIT: As of June 2020, the Stack Prepaid MasterCard is available to residents of Quebec !

For those who travel internationally, it’s wise to travel with some local currency of the country you’re visiting. It’s always good to have cash to pay for taxi rides, hotel tips and street food as most of these places don’t accept credit cards.

The most common and straightforward way to obtaining the local currency is by withdrawing at a foreign ATM. But, using your debit card abroad for ATM withdrawals can be an expensive proposition. Most Canadian banks charge between $3 and $5 for using your debit card in a foreign ATM. Ouch!

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to withdraw cash from an ATM without annoying fees?

Beginner’s guide to traveling the world with points and miles (part 4)

May 11, 2019 Nicolas Marriott, Reward programs

There are countless reward programs available to help Canadians achieve their travel dreams. In the previous section, I demonstrated how to redeem your Aeroplan miles for flights. As for using points for hotel stays, Marriott Bonvoy is one of the best hotel reward programs available for Canadians because points are flexible and can be redeemed in multiple ways.

So in this last article of the series, I will be discussing tips and strategies to use when redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points.

Beginner’s guide to traveling the world with points and miles (part 3)

April 27, 2019 Nicolas Aeroplan, Reward programs

It’s quite easy today to earn tons of travel reward points and miles with credit cards, online shopping portals (like the Aeroplan eStore) and online surveys. But the point of collecting all those points (pun intended 😉 ) is not to hoard them but rather redeem them for vacations or trips. So, it’s always a good idea to earn and burn — to earn points and then redeem them before they expire or there’s a program devaluation.

So, are there any tips and tricks to redeeming those points and miles?

Beginner’s guide to traveling the world with points and miles (part 2)

April 20, 2019 Nicolas Aeroplan, Best Western, Credit cards, Great Canadian Rebates, Marriott, Reward programs

Earning travel reward points can help to achieve your travel dreams. But sometimes, you need a high number of points to redeem for a flight or hotel night. How do you earn a substantial amount of points within a short period of time?

The answer lies with credit cards and will be the focus of this article.

Beginner’s guide to traveling the world with points and miles (part 1)

April 6, 2019 Nicolas Aeroplan, Marriott, Reward programs

Most people agree that plane tickets and hotel nights are generally the most expensive components of a trip or vacation. But what if there was a way to reduce or eliminate the cost of such flights or hotels? Read more